DMU Ozaukee, Wisconsin

Ozaukee County occupies a glacial drift plain sloping eastward toward Lake Michigan, with elevations ranging from roughly 580 feet near the shoreline to about 980 feet in the inland western portions. The northern two-thirds of the county features gently rolling terrain with fertile loamy till soils dominated by dairy pastures and row crop fields, while the southern portion shows more hummocky Kettle Moraine influence with hills, kettles, and small lakes. The Lake Michigan bluffs along the county's 25-mile shoreline rise 70 to 140 feet in dramatic clay-and-glacial-till escarpments. Land cover is predominantly agricultural, with scattered woodlots, white cedar and hardwood swamps, old-field grasslands, and restored wetland ponds. The Milwaukee River and Cedar Creek corridors provide wooded travel routes for deer. Wetlands including bogs, marshes, and mucky peat areas are scattered throughout the lower-lying drainages.

Hunting pressure in DMU Ozaukee is high relative to available public land. The county sits in the immediate Milwaukee metropolitan area with a large urban hunter population competing for extremely limited public acreage. The lottery gun deer hunt at Lion''s Den Gorge is capped at just 10 permits with preference given to Ozaukee County residents, making it highly competitive to obtain. Bow hunters at Lion''s Den must register with the county parks department but are not otherwise capped. Little Menomonee River county park receives moderate to heavy bow pressure given its proximity to suburban Milwaukee. Gun season weekends see the county''s public parcels crowded with hunters. Private land hunters face competition driven by suburban sprawl, but those with established farm permission experience more moderate pressure. Late archery and muzzleloader seasons are comparatively quieter on private ground.

DMU Ozaukee falls within the Southern Farmland Zone. Each deer hunting license includes at least one farmland antlerless harvest authorization for the Ozaukee unit, with the number included varying by season. Bonus antlerless harvest authorizations are available over the counter starting in mid-August each year during the Southern Farmland Zone release window, sold on a first-come, first-served basis at one per person per day until sold out. For 2026, approximately 300 bonus public-land antlerless tags and 700 bonus private-land antlerless tags were made available for Ozaukee. Tags are unit- and land-type-specific at purchase, meaning hunters must designate public or private land use when buying. Prices are $12 for residents, $20 for nonresidents, and $5 for youth under age 12. There is no draw requirement or earn-a-buck system; antlerless tags are generally readily available in this high-deer-density farmland unit. All licensed hunters may harvest a buck during the appropriate open seasons without additional tags.

Wisconsin deer seasons in Ozaukee County for 2026 include archery and crossbow from September 12 through January 3, 2027, potentially extended to January 31 in designated metro subunits; gun season November 21-29; muzzleloader November 30-December 9; a December antlerless-only season December 10-13; and a holiday antlerless-only hunt December 24-January 1, 2027 in select Farmland Zone counties. Wild turkey is available with a spring season running mid-April through late May (application deadline December 10 for spring permit draws) and a fall season running concurrent with the archery deer season September 12-January 3, 2027. Harrington Beach State Park and the Lake Michigan shoreline provide waterfowl hunting during migration, with the adjacent USFWS waterfowl production area at Lion''s Den Gorge enhancing habitat for migratory birds. Small game including pheasant, rabbit, squirrel, and coyote are present across the county. Grouse are uncommon given the limited forest cover but may be encountered in cedar swamp edges and dense woodlots.

DMU Ozaukee is a compact farmland unit where the real draw is agricultural-edge hunting on private land, as dairy farm woodlots, fencerows, and creek bottoms funnel deer between crop fields and create consistent deer activity through the rut. The Milwaukee River and Cedar Creek corridors serve as natural travel highways and hold some of the county''s best buck sign. The Lake Michigan bluff habitat at Lion''s Den Gorge offers a uniquely scenic hunting experience with deer moving along wooded ravines above the shoreline, though access is tightly controlled by the 10-permit lottery. Ozaukee is not a top-tier trophy destination compared to western Wisconsin counties, but suburban hunting pressure has paradoxically left some private farm parcels lightly pressured by older bucks that have learned to avoid pressure. Hunters new to the area should focus on farm permission outreach early in the season since most quality ground is private, and should apply early for the Lion''s Den county lottery if seeking a public-land gun deer opportunity.